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This list of Canadian disasters by death toll includes major disasters (excluding acts of war) that occurred on Canadian soil or involved Canadian citizens, in a definable incident, where the loss of life was 10 or more.
200 or more deaths
| Disaster | Type | Location | Deaths | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 influenza pandemic | Pandemic | Canada | 55,000+ | 1918–1919 | |
| COVID-19 | Pandemic | Canada | 53,000+ | 2020–present | Ongoing |
| HIV/AIDS | Pandemic | Canada | 26,000+ | 1981–present | Ongoing |
| Canadian typhus | Epidemic | Canada | 20,000+ | 1847–1848 | |
| Asian flu | Pandemic | Canada | 7,000 | 1957–1958 | |
| Russian flu | Pandemic | Canada | 6,000 | 1890–1891 | |
| Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775 | Hurricane | Newfoundland | 4,000 | 1775 [1] | |
| Hong Kong flu | Pandemic | Canada | 4,000 | 1968 | |
| 1700 Cascadia earthquake | Earthquake | British Columbia | Unknown, likely several thousand | January 26, 1700 | True figures unknown. Many coastal First Nations villages (such as Kiix-in) were completely wiped out. [2] [3] [4] |
| Tseax Cone eruption | Volcano | British Columbia | 2,000 | ~1700 [5] | |
| Halifax Explosion | Explosion | Nova Scotia | 2,000 | 1917 | estimate; 1,950 recorded names |
| RMS Empress of Ireland | Shipwreck | Quebec | 1,012 | 1914 | St. Lawrence River |
| 2021 Western North America heat wave | Heat wave | British Columbia and Alberta | 676 | 2021 | 610 excess deaths in BC and 66 excess deaths in Alberta during the week [6] [7] [8] |
| Polio | Epidemic | Canada | 500+ | 1953 | |
| RMS Atlantic | Shipwreck | Nova Scotia | 562 | 1873 | Marrs Head, Mosher Island, Meagher's Island |
| Swine flu | Pandemic | Canada | 428 | 2009 to 2010 | out of 3 million Canadians infected |
| Duke William | Shipwreck | North Atlantic, near English coast | 360 | December 13, 1758 | during the expulsion of the Acadians [9] |
| SS Princess Sophia | Shipwreck | Near Juneau, Alaska | 353 | 1918 | en route from Vancouver and Victoria to northern BC and Alaska |
| Aeneas | Shipwreck | Newfoundland | 340 | 1805 | Isle aux Morts |
| Violet | Shipwreck | England | 300 | December 13, 1758 [10] | during the expulsion of the Acadians, near English coast, bound for France |
| Sybelle | Shipwreck | St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia | 316 | September 11, 1834 | emigrant ship wreck |
| Great Labrador Gale of 1885 | Hurricane | Coast of Labrador, Newfoundland | 300 | October 10, 1885 [11] [12] | |
| SS Pacific | Shipwreck | British Columbia | 298 | 1875 | near Cape Flattery out of Victoria, BC |
| Air India Flight 182 | Terrorism | Atlantic Ocean | 268 (Canadians) | 1985 | flight out of Montréal Mirabel International Airport, bomb exploded off the coast of Ireland. 268 out of 329 total fatalities were Canadian. |
| Arrow Air Flight 1285 | Aircrash | Gander, NL | 256 | 1985 | As of 2022 [update], it is the deadliest aviation accident to occur on Canadian soil. [13] |
| SS Montreal | Shipwreck | Quebec | 253 | June 26, 1857 | burned near Québec. [14] |
| Great Lakes Storm of 1913 | Storm | Great Lakes Basin, ON | 250 | 1913 | estimate for Canada and U.S. fatalities |
| HMS Tribune | Shipwreck | Halifax, NS | 238 | 1797 | Wrecked at Halifax |
| SS Anglo Saxon | Shipwreck | Cape Race, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland | 237 | 1863 [15] | Allan Line shipwreck |
| Swissair Flight 111 | Aircrash | Nova Scotia | 229 | 1998 | St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia |
| Nova Scotia hurricane of 1873 | Hurricane | Nova Scotia | 223 (disputed) | 1873 | The Monthly Weather Review, published by the American Meteorological Society, set the death toll at 223 but the New York Times set the toll at 600 |
| Matheson Fire | Fire | Ontario | 223 | 1916 | Official estimate [16] |
| SS Hungarian | Shipwreck | Cape Sable, NS | 205 | 1860 [17] | Allan Line passenger ship wrecked Cape Sable, NS |
| USS Pollux (AKS-2) and USS Truxtun (DD-229) | Shipwreck | Placentia Bay, Newfoundland | 203 | 1942 | Wreck of the USS Pollux resulted in 93 fatalities and USS Truxtun 110; the USS Wilkes (DD-441) also grounded, but there were no fatalities. |
100 to 199 deaths
| Disaster | Type | Location | Deaths | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | Shipwreck | near the Azores | 190+ [18] | December 16, 1758 | during the expulsion of the Acadians |
| Hillcrest mine disaster | Explosion | Hillcrest, AB | 189 | June 19, 1914 | |
| Victoria steamboat disaster | Shipwreck | London, ON | 182+ | May 24, 1881 | [19] |
| SS Southern Cross | Shipwreck | Newfoundland | 174 | March 31, 1914 | |
| SS Florizel | Shipwreck | Cappahayden, NL | 173 | February 23, 1918 | |
| 1927 Nova Scotia hurricane | Hurricane | NS | 173-192 | August 23–25, 1927 | approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea |
| Miramichi fire | Forest fire | NB | 160 | October 1825 | |
| 1887 Nanaimo mine explosion | Explosion | Nanaimo, BC | 150 | May 3, 1887 | |
| SS Valencia | Shipwreck | Vancouver Island, BC | 136 | January 22, 1906 | |
| Franklin's lost expedition | Mass disappearance | Northwest Passage | 129 | 1845–1848 | The final expedition of John Franklin, where the HMS Erebus (1826) and HMS Terror (1813) were lost in the Northwest Passage |
| Coal Creek mine disaster | Explosion | Coal Creek, BC | 128 | May 22, 1902 | |
| First Springhill mining disaster | Explosion | Springhill, NS | 125 | February 21, 1891 | |
| SS Noronic fire | Shipwreck | Toronto, ON | 118 | September 17, 1949 | |
| Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 | Plane crash | Sainte-Thérèse, QC | 118 | November 29, 1963 | |
| HMS Acorn | Shipwreck | Halifax, NS | 115 | April 14, 1828 | |
| Air Canada Flight 621 | Plane crash | Brampton, ON | 109 | July 5, 1970 | |
| HMS Feversham | Shipwreck | Scatarie Island, Main-à-Dieu, NS | 102 | October 7, 1711 |
10 to 99 deaths
- 99 – St-Hilaire train disaster, Richelieu River, Beloeil, Quebec, June 29, 1864 [deadliest train disaster in Canada]
- 99 – Knights of Columbus Hostel fire, St John's, Newfoundland, December 12, 1942
- 84 – Ocean Ranger oil platform sinking, Grand Banks, February 15, 1982
- 81 [Canadian fatalities only] – Hurricane Hazel, Toronto, October 1954
- 78 – SS Newfoundland seal hunt disaster, Newfoundland, March 1914
- 77 – Laurier Palace Theatre fire, Montreal, January 9, 1927
- 76 – Quebec Bridge first collapse, August 29, 1907
- 74 – Third Springhill mining disaster, Springhill, Nova Scotia, October 23, 1958
- 74 – The 2018 North American heat wave resulted in 74 deaths in Quebec [20]
- 73–200 – Great Porcupine Fire, Porcupine, Ontario, July 10, 1911
- 70 – Desjardins Canal disaster, railway bridge collapse, March 12, 1857
- 70 – Frank Slide, Turtle Mountain (Alberta), April 29, 1903
- 64 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 (CP402) McDonnell Douglas DC-8-43 crashed on landing, Tokyo, Japan March 4, 1966
- 63 [Canadian fatalities only] – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, January 8, 2020 [fatalities may exclude some holders of Iranian passports ]
- 62 – Rogers Pass avalanche, Rogers Pass, British Columbia, March 4, 1910
- 62 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, Chilliwack, British Columbia, December 9, 1956
- 60 – Britannia Mine Jane Camp landslide, British Columbia, March 22, 1915
- 59 – Despatch shipwreck, Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland, July 12, 1828 [21]
- 55 – Point Ellice Bridge disaster, Victoria, British Columbia, May 26, 1896
- 55-58 – 1926 Nova Scotia hurricane, August 8, 1926 [approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea]
- 54 – 2018 Eastern Canada heat wave [22]
- 52 – Great Western Railway passenger train collides with the tail end of gravel train at Baptiste Creek, Canada West. October 27, 1854
- 52-232 – 1900 Galveston hurricane, September 12–14, 1900 [approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea]
- 52 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 Douglas DC-6B crashed near Dog Creek, British Columbia when a bomb blew its tail section away, July 8, 1965
- 48 – Opémiska Community Hall fire, Chapais, Quebec, December 31, 1979
- 47 – Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, July 6, 2013
- 44 – Spanish River derailment, Northern Ontario, January 21, 1910
- 44 – US Military DC-4 crash, 42 US military personnel and 2 civilians, presumably somewhere in Yukon or British Columbia, January 26, 1950
- 44 – 1997 Les Éboulements bus accident, Quebec, October 13, 1997
- 43 – Great Fire of 1922, Timiskaming District, Ontario, October 4–5, 1922
- 43 – SARS outbreak, Toronto, Ontario, February–September 2003 (out of 251 total cases)
- 42 – Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport, February 11, 1978
- 40+ – HMS Penelope, April 30, 1815, near Cap des Rosiers (many survivors later froze to death) [23]
- 40 – Quebec rockslide, Cap Diamant, September 19, 1889
- 40 – SS Islander (Canadian Pacific Steam Navigation Company), sunk by iceberg, Lynn Canal south of Juneau, Alaska, August 15, 1901
- 40 [Canadian fatalities only] – Titanic, sank April 15, 1912 (Canadian deaths only of 1,517 total) [24]
- 40 – Eastman Bus Crash, Eastman, Quebec, August 4, 1978
- 39 – Hollinger Mining Disaster, Timmins, Ontario, February 10, 1928
- 39 – Almonte train wreck, December 27, 1942
- 39 – Second Springhill mining disaster, Springhill, Nova Scotia, November 1, 1956
- 38 - Sinking of the Commerce in Lake Erie off of Port Maitland, Canada West., May 1, 1850
- 37 – Great Labrador Gale of 1867, October 9, 1867
- 37+ – 1869 Saxby Gale, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, October 4–5, 1869 [most deaths occurred at sea]
- 37 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas C-54 A-10-DC disappeared en route without trace out of Vancouver, British Columbia for Anchorage, Alaska, July 21, 1951
- 37 – Blue Bird Café fire, Montreal, September 1, 1972
- 37 – Britannia Beach flood, British Columbia, October 28, 1921
- 35 – 1959 Escuminac hurricane, Gulf of St. Lawrence, June 19, 1959
- 32 – L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire, L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, January 23, 2014
- 31 – Halifax Poor House Fire, November 7, 1882
- 31 – Dugald train disaster, Dugald, Manitoba, September 1, 1947
- 31 – Saint-Jean-Vianney, Quebec mudslide, May 4, 1971 [25]
- 30 – John B. King explosion, near Brockville, Ontario, June 26, 1930, lightning struck a drill boat containing dynamite
- 30 [est.] – Quebec blizzard, March 3–5, 1971 (conservative estimate, all in Quebec)
- 29 – 1929 Grand Banks earthquake and tsunami, Burin Peninsula, November 18, 1929
- 29 – SS Edmund Fitzgerald, Lake Superior November 10, 1975, went down with all hands
- 28 – Regina Cyclone, Regina, Saskatchewan, June 30, 1912
- 28 – LaSalle Heights Disaster, LaSalle, Quebec, March 1, 1965
- 28 [Canadian fatalities only] – North American ice storm of 1998, January 1998
- 27 – SS Viking, explosion, Horse Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador, March 15, 1931
- 27 – Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing bridge collapse, Vancouver, June 17, 1958
- 27 – Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 Bristol Britannia crashed in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 22, 1962
- 27 – Edmonton tornado, Edmonton, Alberta, July 31, 1987
- 26+ – HMS Speedy shipwreck in snowstorm, Lake Ontario, October 8, 1804
- 26-28 – Granduc Mine avalanche, Stewart, British Columbia, February 18, 1965 (some references say 28 were killed)
- 26 – Westray Mine methane explosion, Plymouth, Nova Scotia, May 9, 1992
- 24 – Air Ontario Flight 1363, near Dryden, Ontario, March 10, 1989
- 24 – 9/11, September 11, 2001 [Canada fatalities only]
- 23 – Québec Airways DC-3 bomb sabotage, Saint-Joachim, Quebec, September 9, 1949 See Albert Guay
- 23 – Air Canada Flight 797, aircraft fire, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, June 2, 1983
- 23 – Hinton train collision, Hinton, Alberta, February 8, 1986
- 23 – Legionnaire's disease outbreak, Toronto, 2005 [26] [27]
- 23 – 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, Nova Scotia, April 18–19, 2020
- 22 – Bus crash Swift Current, Saskatchewan, May 28, 1980 [28]
- 22 – 2008 Canada listeriosis outbreak, 2008 (out of 57 total cases)
- 21 – Canoe River train crash, Valemount, British Columbia, November 21, 1950
- 21 – MV Flare bulk carrier shipwreck, Cabot Strait, January 16, 1998
- 20 – Beauval Indian Residential School fire, Beauval, Saskatchewan, September 20, 1927
- 19 – Dorion level crossing accident, Dorion, Quebec, October 7, 1966
- 18 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, March 10, 2019 [Canadian victims only]
- 17 – School bus train collision, Lamont, Alberta, November 29, 1960 [29]
- 17 – Windsor–Tecumseh tornado, Windsor, Ontario June 17, 1946 [30]
- 17 – Cougar Helicopters Flight 91, off Newfoundland, March 12, 2009
- 16 – Protection Island mining disaster, September 10, 1918: elevator cable break [31]
- 16 – Humboldt Broncos bus crash, April 6, 2018
- 16 - Carberry highway collision, Carberry, Manitoba, June 15, 2023
- 15 – Ottawa & New York Railway Bridge (south channel crossing) bridge collapse, Cornwall, Ontario, September 6, 1898
- 15 – Orleans air disaster, Orleans, Ontario, May 15, 1956
- 15 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 307 Douglas DC-6B aircrash, near Cold Bay, Alaska, August 29, 1956
- 15 – 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami [Canadian victims only]
- 15 – Les Éboulements bus accident, Quebec, June 1, 1974
- 14 – "Barrie" tornado outbreak, May 31, 1985
- 14 – École Polytechnique massacre, shooting rampage, December 6, 1989
- 13 – Sand Point, Ontario, head-on train collision, February 9, 1904
- 13 – Quebec Bridge second collapse, September 11, 1913
- 13 – MS Arctic Explorer shipwreck, off St Anthony, Newfoundland, July 3, 1981
- 12 - Boating tragedy Lake of Two Mountains, L'Île-Bizard, Quebec. Twelve NCC ( Negro Community Centre) children drown, July 13 1954.
- 12 – M.F.V. Enterprise and MV Patrick Morris sinking (the latter was responding to a mayday call from the former), northeast of Cape Breton Island, April 20, 1970
- 12 – Cormier-Village Hayride Accident, Cormier-Village, New Brunswick, Oct 1989
- 12 – Pine Lake tornado in Alberta, July 14, 2000
- 12 – First Air Flight 6560 a Boeing 737 crashes near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, August 20, 2011
- 11 – Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A CF-CUN "Empress of Hawaii", crashed on takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan, March 3, 1953 (first passenger jetliner involved in a fatal accident) [32]
- 11 – Collision between a van and an eighteen-wheeler, between Stratford and Perth, Ontario, February 6, 2012. (ten of the killed were Peruvian migrant workers) [33]
- 11 – St. George bridge derailment, St. George, Ontario, February 27, 1889
- 10 – Metropolitan Store explosion, Windsor, Ontario, October 25, 1960 [34]
- 10 – Rupert Hotel Fire, Toronto, December 23, 1989 [35]
- 10 – Toronto van attack, Toronto, April 23, 2018
- 10 – 2022 Saskatchewan stabbings, Saskatchewan, September 4, 2022
- 10 – Port Colborne explosion, Port Colborne, Ontario, August 9, 1919
See also
- Index of Canada-related articles
- List of Deadliest Canadian Traffic Accidents (by death toll)
- List of disasters in Antarctica by death toll
- List of disasters in Australia by death toll
- List of disasters in Canada (by date)
- List of disasters in Croatia by death toll
- List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
- List of disasters in New Zealand by death toll
- List of disasters in Poland by death toll
- List of disasters in the United States by death toll
- List of anthropogenic disasters by death toll (worldwide)
- Volcanism of Canada
References
- ^ "The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996". www.nhc.noaa.gov.
- ^ Meissner, Dirk (18 January 2015), "Earth will rip open like a zipper, expert says, when overdue Vancouver Island quake strikes", Toronto Star, retrieved 19 January 2015
- ^ "Prepare for next tsunami, says chief". Raven's Eye, Vol. 8, No. 9, 2009.
- ^ "Haida Gwaii Quake Brings Home the Importance of Quileute Relocation Legislation" Archived 2016-08-23 at the Wayback Machine. Indian Country Today Media Network, November 6, 2012.
- ^ D. Higgins, Michael (2008). "The Cascadia megathrust earthquake of 1700 may have rejuvenated an isolated basalt volcano in western Canada: Age and petrographic evidence". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 179 (1–2): 149. doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.10.016. ISSN 0377-0273.
- ^ "Number of deaths recorded during B.C.'s heat wave up to 808, coroners say". CTV British Columbia. 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- ^ Potestio, Michael (2021-07-21). "Estimate on number of suspected heat-related deaths rises to 808". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- ^ Johnson, Lisa (2021-07-06). "Alberta saw spike in reported deaths during heatwave, causes still under investigation". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ^ Letter from Captain William Nichols dated December 16, 1758 says 360 passengers aboard the Duke William: London Magazine XXVII, p. 655.
- ^ Letter from Captain William Nichols dated December 16, 1758 says 300 passengers aboard the Violet: London Magazine XXVII, p. 655.
- ^ "THE GALE OFF LABRADOR; FURTHER DETAILS OF ITS DESTRUCTIVE WORK.SUFFERINGS OF THE SHIPWRECKED CREWS--OVER 75 LIVES LOST AND 80 VESSELSWRECKED--HEROIC DEEDS". New York Times. 1885-11-08.
- ^ Coastal Flooding: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF N950JW Gander Airport, NL (YQX)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ Marine Disasters
- ^ Anglo Saxon wreck 1863 Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Heritage Foundation of Canada Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ On the Rocks: Shipwrecks of Nova Scotia - Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia Archived 2007-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lockerby, Earle (Spring 1998). "The Deportation of the Acadians from Ile St.-Jean, 1758". Acadiensis. XXVII (2): 45–94.
- ^ ""THE "VICTORIA" BOAT DISASTER 1881" - London - Ontario Provincial Plaques on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- ^ Hauen, Jack (5 July 2018). "Highlighting differences with Quebec, Ontario coroner announces investigations of three heat-related deaths". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ Brief History of the Workington brig Despatch / Dispatch Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "50 people now dead due to sweltering Quebec heat wave". Global News. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4987). 11 July 1815.
- ^ "The Demographics of Titanic Passengers".
- ^ "CBC News Indepth: Forces of nature - Flooding".
- ^ Alamenciak, Tim (July 24, 2013). "Toronto sees spike in legionnaires' disease cases". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- ^ "People's Daily Online -- Legionnaires' disease claims another life in Toronto". english.people.com.cn.
- ^ "Canada's worst bus crash". Montreal Gazette. April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ Pruden, Jana. "Survivors recall 'The Tragedy'". www.edmontonjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ 1946 Windsor–Tecumseh, Ontario tornado
- ^ Lindsay, AScT, Shari (2004), Coal Mine Underground Workings Atlas, Nanaimo, BC: Pacific Spatial Systems[ permanent dead link]
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A CF-CUN Karachi-Mauripur RAF Station". aviation-safety.net.
- ^ "Ontario crash kills 11, including migrant workers". CBC News. 2012-02-07.
- ^ Windsor Fire and Rescue Services History Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The horror of the Rupert Hotel fire still lingers". Spacing.ca. December 24, 2014.
External links
- Canadian Disasters: an historical survey by Robert L. Jones
- SOS! Canadian Disasters, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada
- Maritime Museum of the Atlantic: Marine Heritage Database